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CHECKLIST FOR INSTALLING ADDITIONAL IDE HARD DRIVES TO AN EXISTING COMPUTER SYSTEM

With more users putting their music on hard disk, stations need to add more hard drive storage space. This checklist is designed to aid in adding hard drives to an existing system. Adding new drives should be done by an experienced computer technician that is familiar with personal computers. This is not a project for a beginner or novice to personal computers.

There are two types of hard drives used on personal computers, IDE and SCSI. Both require controllers to run hard drives. Since most computers use IDE hard drives and new computers come with two IDE controller ports built in to the motherboard, this checklist will deal with adding IDE hard drives to an existing system.

PARTS, DOCUMENTATION, AND TOOLS:

Prior to beginning this project, be sure that you have the following:

  1. New Hard Drives – Be sure that you have the correct type of hard drives (IDE, not SCSI in this case) and that they are the correct size.
  2. Controller – Be sure that you have the correct IDE controller for the project. New computers have two IDE ports on the motherboard, allowing for a total of four IDE hard drives. If your computer is older, you will have an IDE controller card. Make sure the IDE controller card will in fact control the hard drives you are adding. Depending on the age of the computer, this may be a problem. New IDE controller cards are available for older computers, which should work with new drives. Check with your computer parts dealer for more information.
  3. Controller Cables – You will need cables for the new hard drives. Usually an IDE cable will have connections for two hard drives. You will need a second cable if you are adding drives to the second IDE port on your computer.
  4. Documentation – You will have some documentation with your new hard drives, but you will also need to have the documentation that came with your old drives. In some case you will need to change the jumper settings on your old drives so the new drives can slave to them. Make sure you understand the documentation and jumper settings for the old drives, as well as the new drives. If you cannot find the documentation for your old drives, refer to the Internet for technical support from the hard drive manufacturer. We have links to the major hard drive manufacturers on our technical support site, which may be of assistance.
  5. Mounting Rails – If you are mounting a 3˝” drive in a 5Ľ” slot in your computer case, you will need rails that attach to the sides of the drive.
  6. Tools – A philips head screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, and some wire wraps will be needed to install the new drives.

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED:

Before you start any project changing your computer hardware, it is an excellent idea to make sure that you have an adequate backup of your existing data. Be sure you have a good backup of all computer programs, data files, and hard disk audio files.

Also, allow yourself plenty of time to complete this project. There is no easy way to know how long your computer system will be down, but be generous with you guess. It usually takes longer than you think it will.

INSTALL THE HARD DRIVES:

    1. Turn the power off to the computer. Leave the power cord connected to the back of the computer, because this will help discharge static electricity. Open the computer case. Inspect the existing configuration, assessing the location of the current drives, availability of slots for the new drives, existing cables and their connections, and note the current jumper settings on the existing drives.
    2. Make the necessary changes to the existing hard drive’s jumper settings. You may have to remove the drives to do so. The first drive on an IDE bus should be set to Master and the second drive must be set to Slave. Some hard drives have the same jumper setting for Single Drive and Master with Slave present, but not all. Be careful to set the jumpers correctly. Also, be sure the jumpers are correctly inserted. Recently I was working on an older system and a technician had installed a jumper upside down and it was not making contact with the pins. By simply turning the jumper over, the system started working again.
    3. After setting the jumpers on the new drives, mount them in the computer case. Attach the power cables and the controller cables correctly. Usually the red stripe on the controller cable must be on the same side of the hard drive as the power connector, but this may not be true for your new drives. Check your documentation to make sure you have the cables connected correctly.
    4. Turn the computer back on. Enter the CMOS Setup mode, usually done by pressing the DELETE key when instructed on the screen. Enter the correct setting for your new drives. Include Cylinders, Heads, and Sectors as instructed by your documentation for the new drive. In some cases you will have to enter operating mode for the drive, when possible leave it set to AUTO. Exit CMOS and save your new settings.
    5. Reboot the system and watch the screen to make sure the system operates correctly. Depending on the brand of motherboard and CMOS in your system, you should see some type of hardware list or chart on the screen during reboot. Make sure you see all installed drives listed. If not, go back through the installation procedure and correct your mistake.

PARTITION AND FORMAT HARD DRIVES:

  1. Using MS-DOS FDISK, partition each new drive. MS-DOS will reassign the Logical Drives with the Primary DOS Partitions on each fixed disk hard drive coming first, then the Extended Partition Logical Drives.
  2. Now Format each partition (Logical Drive) using MS-DOS.

ADD NEW HARD DRIVES TO LANTASTIC NETWORK:

  1. Once the new drives are fully operational, including partitioning and formatting, they must be added to LANtastic as shared hard drives. Reboot the computer and let the LANtastic network load normally.
  2. After the computer is rebooted and the network is running, exit to MS-DOS and enter NET_MGR at a DOS prompt.
  3. Now select “Shared Resources” from the menu.
  4. You should see a chart showing the computer’s various components and their designation on the network. Press the INSERT key to add a new hard drive partition.
  5. Next add its network designation, i.e. F-DRIVE
  6. Enter the local drive specification for the first logical drive (new partition), i.e. F:
  7. Repeat these steps until all new logical drives (partitions) are added to the list. Double check the list to make sure it is correct.
  8. Reboot the computer.

UPDATE THE STARTNET.BAT (CONNECT.BAT) TO MAP THE NEW DRIVES TO THE NETWORK:

    1. Determine if your computer is mapping in the STARTNET.BAT or the CONNECT.BAT. Both batch files are located in your C:LANTASTI subdirectories. Use EDIT to see which file contains the mapping.
    2. Add the necessary mapping lines to the correct batch file to link the hard drives to the right drives on the network.
    3. For example your the mapping may be something like:
NET USE O: PLAYBACKC-DRIVE
NET USE P: PLAYBACKD-DRIVE
NET USE Q: PLAYBACKE-DRIVE
NET USE R: PLAYBACKF-DRIVE
NET USE S: PLAYBACKG-DRIVE
NET USE T: PLAYBACKH-DRIVE
NET USE U: RC2C-DRIVE
NET USE V: RC2D-DRIVE
NET USE W: RC2E-DRIVE
NET USE X: RC2F-DRIVE
NET USE Y: RC2G-DRIVE
NET USE Z: RC2H-DRIVE

Email your STARTNET.BAT and/or CONNECT.BAT to our technical support department if you want help in mapping your new drives. Our email address is support@pm-systems.com.

Check your mapping. Reboot all computers on the network. Check the network drive specifications by going to a DOS prompt and entering NET SHOW. You will see a report that details how that computer is connected to the other computers on the network.

ADD APPEND COMMAND TO YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT:

  1. Be sure to add or modify the APPEND command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT so the computer system will READ across the multiple partitions of your system. The system will start at the current directory, then read any additional directories that are appended to it.
  2. Read the the MS-DOS Help screen on Append for more information. On a typical Pristine Playback or Production computer, after the CALL C:LANTASTISTARTNET.BAT line, add or modify the following
C:
CDMUSICMGR
APPEND=D:MUSICMGR;E:MUSICMGR;F:MUSICMGR;G:MUSICMGR

It is unnecessary to add the lines above to a Pristine RapidFire On-Air Playback Computer, RapidFire handles the appending of local drives automatically.

SETUP EACH LOGICAL DRIVE FOR PRISTINE AND UPDATE TRANSFER PLUS:

Make a MUSICMGR subdirectory on each of the new logical drive (partitions) on both Production and Playback computers.

At the DOS prompt enter MD {Drive Specification}:MUSICMGR to create the subdirectories for SPC files.

Also at the DOS prompt enter MD {Drive Specification}:XFERPLS to create these subdirectories.

Copy the Pristine Transfer Plus program files from the C:XFERPLS subdirectory to the XFERPLS subdirectory of each new logical drive. The file names are:

MM-XPLUS EXE       406,504  03-17-99  9:18a 
SPCTIME  DBF         2,467  10-08-92  1:46p
SPCTIME1 DBF           259  05-06-92  4:33p
XFCNTRL  DAT           112  02-22-97  2:25p
XFCOLOR  MEM            88  05-27-92  1:24p
XFCONTL  MEM           827  10-10-93 10:35a
XFCONTRL MEM           217  07-12-93  4:05p

Once Pristine Transfer Plus is loaded on to each logical drive, edit the setup for each drive so it transfers correctly to the correct Playback Computer. Refer to the Pristine Transfer Plus Manual for instructions. You should find a copy of the manual in your Pristine Systems Manuals binder. It is also available for download on our technical support website.

Finally, the new copies of Pristine Transfer Plus should be added to the Control Panel for ease of operation. Follow the instructions for Adding/Deleting Items from Control Panel found on our technical support website listed above.

FINAL TEST:

  1. Check your work to make sure all new drive partitions are working correctly.
  2. Check all network mapping and configurations so that all files are located where they should be and transfers can be completed successfully.
  3. Check the transfer rate. On a typical Pristine System using LANtastic, transfer rates of approximately one megabyte in five to ten seconds would be acceptable.
  4. Check the new copies of the Pristine Transfer Plus to make sure they are setup and operating correctly.

© 2000 Professional Management Services Inc.
All Rights Reserved. MS-DOS® is a trademark of Microsoft, Inc.
This page last updated 10/27/00 8:57 AM

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